The question revives dark memories for Derek Anderson, who was 3-8 in his last 11 games as the Browns' starter. That stretch included the Browns' most recent game against Chicago, the team that will visit Cleveland on Sunday.

Late in a 30-6 loss at Soldier Field on Nov. 1, 2009, Anderson was unceremoniously benched. After the game, general manager George Kokinis was fired.

Brady Quinn replaced Anderson at Chicago, but within months was deemed unworthy of the No. 22 overall pick that had been spent on him in 2007. Quinn's record as a Browns starter was 3-9 when he was traded to Denver.

The quarterbacks kept coming.

Seneca Wallace got out of Browns Town with a 1-6 record. Colt McCoy lost eight of his last 10 starts. Brandon Weeden, the No. 22 pick of the 2012 draft, has lost his last seven in a row.

What makes Jason Campbell, who is 1-4 this year, any different?

It is as important as any question the Jimmy Haslam regime must answer.

It boils down to this: Can Campbell convince CEO Joe Banner, general manager Michael Lombardi and head coach Rob Chudzinski he is headed into the best football of his life at 31 years old?

Campbell's play at New England in a 27-26 loss was an indication that perhaps he is.

He passed for a career-high 391 yards. His performance would have been good for a win over a team that almost never loses at home had the Browns recovered a late onside kick.

He boosted his season passer rating to 88.0, putting him in position for his best season. His ratings for his 2010 and 2011 seasons at Oakland, when he was 11-7 as the starter, were 84.5 and 84.2. His career best was 86.4 in 2009, the last of his five years in Washington.

If Campbell plays as well in the next three games as he did at New England, it seems likely a five-step game plan will be followed as the team makes a quarterback plan for 2014:

1. Try to get a draft pick for Brandon Weeden.

2. Keep Hoyer, who provided a spark in three starts before he blew out a knee.

3. Keep Campbell, who is getting older (he will turn 32 on New Year's Eve) but is hardly ancient.

4. Spend a high draft pick on a quarterback who strikes the brass as a potential playoff-style leader.

5. Ride with Campbell or Hoyer if the draft pick doesn't seem ready, and see how the season goes with the veteran who wins the job.

Campbell has been very good in three of his five starts, posting a 105.4 rating at Kansas City, a 116.6 rating against Baltimore and a 116.8 rating at New England.

Page 2 of 3 - One of the big questions is whether he can be consistently good. After he beat Baltimore, despite suffering a rib injury in the first half, he put up a 44.3 rating in a 41-20 loss at Cincinnati. Then, in a 27-11 loss to Pittsburgh, he posted a 78.6 rating before leaving with a concussion.

Campbell judges himself critically, but not harshly for the Bengals and Steelers games.

"(The New England game) was the healthiest I've felt since the Kansas City game," he said. "The Cincinnati game ... it was just tough trying to fight through it. Coming back in the Pittsburgh game, I felt better, but I still wasn't healed yet."

He sat out a home game against Jacksonville with the concussion.

"Missing that game, I think it healed my mind and I got a chance to heal my body," he said. "So I was out there to play and wasn't worried about trying to protect myself."

Against the Patriots, Campbell led the Browns to a 26-14 lead. In one of the finest moments of his career, he seemed to put the game away with an 80-yard drive. He got out of a third-and-17 with a 19-yard strike to Josh Gordon.

"We knew that was a critical play," Campbell said. "Once I saw the coverage, I knew in my mind I was going to go to Josh (Gordon).

"I thought that said a lot about our team on that drive because they had scored and we had to answer. They had all of the momentum. I just feel like all of the guys in the huddle were like, 'Let's finish the game.' "

Campbell threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron with 2:43 left.

The next time he got the ball, a 26-12 Browns lead had turned into a 27-26 New England advantage. There were 31 seconds left. Even then, Campbell completed three balls for 40 yards to set up a long field goal try on the final snap.

"I am proud of this team," Campbell said. "We show a lot of resilience and we'll continue to fight these next three games. There won't be any giving up in any of us."

What happens after those three games? There is a sense Campbell is growing on the Browns' brass.

Chudzinski loved Campbell's work at New England.

"He managed the game, managed the offense, made plays, stood in there, took some hits, and delivered some big throws," Chudzinski said. "He was very much into the game and really, really, on top of his game."

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is sure to weigh in on Campbell as the Browns assess his future. Here's some of what Turner has said he likes about the former Auburn star:

"He brings a dimension that's tough on defenses because they have to account for his ability to run.

Page 3 of 3 - "He knows how to prepare, and he knows how to compete. He knows how hard it is to win in this league, and he knows every week that you can't take anything for granted. It's a great example for the rest of our team."

Lombardi, the general manager, has been reclusive. He has not weighed in on Campbell.

What little there is to go on comes from an old National Football Post observation from Lombardi, from his media days:

"Campbell has demonstrated tremendous progress. He is far from perfect, but he can function well, and if the right supporting cast is around him, he can help a team win."

Much has happened since Lombardi wrote that. The updated view, whatever it might be, is one of the great fascinations regarding this team.